Urn:newsml:dpa.com:20090101:261004 930 787182

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to end his attacks on Ukraine and show willingness to negotiate, saying in Kiev that the strikes on civilians must stop.

"Mr Putin, stop this senseless war! We are ready for talks, we are ready to speak with one another ending this war. But these barbaric attacks on the civilian population of Ukraine must stop," Merz said on Sunday.

Merz visited the National Academy of Sciences in Kiev, which was struck in a drone attack, accompanied by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Russian attacks triggered drone alarms several times during Merz's visit, and a bridge in the north of the Ukrainian capital had already been hit earlier in the morning.

Speaking at the ruins of the academy, Merz said attacks such as the one last Monday had made the senselessness of this war plain to see.

"An attack on the Academy of Sciences in Kiev, in the middle of the city, just a few hundred metres from the German embassy. And this morning, on a peaceful Sunday, an air-raid alarm in Kiev," Merz said. "These are daily war crimes being committed here."

Deadly drone strike in broad daylight

There were daily attacks on Ukraine's infrastructure while the country was preparing for winter, Merz said.

"I appeal once again to the Russian leadership, to the Russian president: Stop this war! We can talk, but only when the weapons fall silent - and the weapons must fall silent," he said.

The drone struck the academy in the middle of the day. The impact and the subsequent fire destroyed two floors of the historic building. One woman was killed and around six people were injured.